Belal Muhammad thinks the UFC, fans and MMA experts are tired of Leon Edwards as welterweight champion and intends to take the belt from him in UFC 304.
Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will finally get his long-awaited golden chance when he challenges Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the main event of the July 27 card, which takes place at the Co-op Live from Manchester, England (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
It’s been an agonizing wait for Muhammad, who has been inactive for 14 months since extending his 10-fight unbeaten streak with a unanimous decision victory over Gilbert Burns in a title eliminator fight at UFC 288 in May 2023. The wait has only motivated Muhammad, however.
“It was definitely frustrating all the waiting, because I love fighting,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “I love being active. I’m always training. I’m always at the gym, so it was difficult. But that’s the guy Leon is. He is not an active champion. He is very difficult to deal with. Even with that fight with Colby (Covington), it took forever for them to score. For this fight, it took forever to score. I think it’s more that this guy is training to hold the belt for as long as possible and act like he’s a long-time champion and look at it like, ‘Oh, I’ve been champion for 300 days’ like that means something.
“At the end of the day, your resume is what means something. When you look at guys like Kamaru (Usman), who was an active champion, those are the champions you respect – guys like (Israel) Adesanya and (Alexander) Volkanovski, who immediately looked for the next challenger. After the fight, they had the next fight scheduled or set, and they always wanted to fight the next best guy. But Leon, he’s a coward. His team is all scared and they’re all scared because they know he’s not that good and they know I’m a terrible opponent for them and they’re trying to put it off as long as possible.
Muhammad, 35, said he is eager to rid Edwards of his place as champion and win the crown, and even though he has his credit, he thinks he will be a much more attractive title holder.
“Nobody hears about Leon – Leon doesn’t talk,” Muhammad said. “He appears on a podcast once every three months and whispers. No one can understand what he is saying. He looks stupid – he has no confidence. He’s weird. He’s weird. And I think I’m going to do everyone a favor on July 27th: Once we beat him, we’ll be ready. We don’t need to hear from him anymore. The UFC doesn’t need to promote him anymore because he’s not going to be champion, so he’s going to be forced to do things on his own.”
The wait to receive his title shot isn’t the only thing that has generated Muhammad’s animosity toward Edwards. Their history also plays a big role in the situation.
Edwards and Muhammad previously fought in the main event of UFC Fight Night 187 in March 2021. The fight ended in a no contest in the second round after Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye and he was unable to continue. Muhammad has been pushing for the rematch ever since, and his disdain for “Rocky” has only grown over the past three years.
“I literally hate him,” Muhammad said. “He’s making me hate people with London accents. People with that British accent irritate me. Every time I hear him, every time I see him, I get angry, because honestly, this delay, their conversation, the narrative that they’re trying to push with even their coaches and their brother trying to call out other people – they were literally calling out by Gilbert Burns after I defeated Gilbert Burns. Their entire team irritates me.
“They all have low IQ. They are not very smart. They are the people who give fighters a bad name because people look at fighters and think we are dumb. No, there are fighters who are polite. I have a degree. There are some guys out there who aren’t that dumb, but when you hear Leon talk, his coaches talk, his team talk, you’re like, ‘Man, all these fighters are dumb as rocks.’ That’s what your entire team is. They are dumb as rocks. I can’t wait to finish them and their team off. They won’t have anyone left after this, after I get past them.”
Muhammad expects a one-sided fight when he finally steps into the cage with Edwards at UFC 304. He will have to travel to his opponent’s home country and fight in the middle of the night local time to complete his mission, but said nothing is going to stop him. it from doing the job.
“Honestly, I think I’m going to pack him in real early and then I’m going to take him down,” Muhammad said. “I could finish him off with a TKO, but I’ll let him retreat. So I’m going to look at his coach and tell him, ‘Hey, give him some motivational words. Tell him to be a man. Hurry up.’ And his coach will look at me and say, ‘I don’t know what to tell him.’ Then I’ll hit him again and say, ‘Tell him something.’ So I’m going to hit him again. Then I’m going to hit him with a rear naked choke, probably in the first round, and then, just before he taps, I’m going to release him. Then I’ll let him breathe a little, go to his corner, wait for the coach to give him better advice.
“Second round, I’m going to take him down again. I’m going to start hitting him, elbowing him. This time, I’m going to look at his brother and say, ‘Bro, aren’t you going to come get your brother? Won’t you help your brother? Then he will look at me, he will curse me, he will insult me. I’ll just be smiling. Then I’ll look at Leon and say, ‘Okay, I’m done with you.’ So I’m going to finish him in the second round. You can call me ‘Mystic Muhammad’.”
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 304.
